Advances in communication infrastructures and technologies have made mobile communication a normal, as well as expected, part of today's society. Mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones, come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and have various mechanisms and functions. The size of many mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), small computing devices and other communication devices is conveniently small enough to exhibit pure portability. For example, most mobile phones and PDAs can easily be carried in their users' pockets. They are also often transported in briefcases, bags, purses, etc. This portability, while convenient, presents a greater risk of inadvertent actuation of exposed user input mechanisms relative to fixed devices (e.g., desktop computing devices). For example, a key(s) on a mobile phone may be inadvertently actuated when placed in the user's pocket or briefcase. The result can be unintentional dialing of a phone number, unintentional invocation of an application, or the like.
To prevent such unintentional events, mobile devices may include a function to lock the device keypad or other user input, so that the keys or other input cannot inadvertently be triggered and cause those unintentional events to occur. Such a locking mechanism may require a user-defined code to be entered to unlock the user input, thereby providing some level of security against unauthorized use. Further, automatic locking mechanisms can lock the user input after some predetermined time of non-use. Whether the user manually locks the user input or it is done automatically, the security code may have to be entered every time the user attempts to operate the device. This can be very burdensome to the user, particularly when the device is being used in an environment that is unlikely to need such security mechanisms, such as the user's home.
Accordingly, there is a need for devices and method for addressing at least the problem of having to enter security codes to unlock the user input for a device all of the time, or at least at times when it is unnecessary or inconvenient to the user. A further need exists for apparatuses and methods for ensuring that user input devices can be locked to avoid unintentional actuation of user input mechanisms, without necessitating incessant entry of security codes by the user. The present invention fulfills these and other needs, and offers numerous advantages over the prior art.